Kristi McDowell Comic Reviews

I guess, overall, I expected the Fantastic Four finale to be something a little more amazing and over the top. But perhaps that's the problem with a story that takes place across two books is that, without the other, it can't genuinely feel like an ending.

A beautiful story accompanied by some wacky but fun art, I really dug the heck out of this series. As I look back at other series that ended before I was ready for them to go in the last couple of months (a tragic many of them, let me tell you), I can honestly say that this one was one of the best. Aside from that one really trippy issue with the miniature tiger and the creators in the roller coaster car and the fact that this issue featured the same party finale epilogue that Fantastic Four #16 had, I would have given this series and, in particular, a 10/10. However, to reuse the same story for the final pages felt lazy to me. I thought that, considering Fraction and company had control of both books, they would do something interesting with the ending. Anything. The series started with an impressive bang but ended with a slightly smaller but still kind of impressive bang.

This is the first comic I've read in a long time where every single character looks like a person you might encounter in real life. I think comics tend to feel like the characters, even the background ones, have been cut out of a fashion magazine full of models. But Alphona has filled Ms. Marvel with actually interesting, dynamic characters from the title character all the way down to the background character of a party that we see for only a couple of panels

I like how unafraid Aaron was to make me mad at the X-Men and really turn Toad into a genuinely sympathetic character. I think his arc is taking Toad into a direction we've not really seen before, with him showing initiative and a sense of identity. I'm very invested in his journey. And the art really captured me. I couldn't take my eyes off of Toad's profile. This was a damn good issue and I'm really surprised that an issue before the whole series ends, I was reminded why I had fallen in love with Wolverine and the X-Men in the first place.

I'm glad I've been hanging on to this issue and I know that when X-Men #12 hits the shelves, it'll be on the top of my pile of comics to read. This was a slow burn, X-Men, but you're bringing me back. I want this big story arc to end (but not too soon) and then do some heavy focus on some of these really interesting character dynamics that have been developing. If I get that, I can be a happy fan.

I'm just pleased that hanging onto X-Men over the long haul. I have been genuinely delighted at the direction the story has taken and I think the new writer has been given the tools to really turn this book into a consistent winner. I give this book a very enthusiastic 9/10. My only complaint is that when things don't go his way, the Future becomes painfully whiny.